Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

If you have not read the report published by Youthnet and launched at the House of Commons yesterday, it should be a on the top of your catch-up list. Apart from the use of the “Digital Native’ cliché, the research findings by Professor Michael Hulme not only makes an interesting read but debunks many of the ideas that have been prevalent over the last few years. Although the research covered the 16-24 age group, so should not perhaps be applied to students of a younger age, it becomes relevant when you realise that many young people today cannot indeed, “live without the internet” (75% claimed they could not), and it is “a ‘natural’ space for young people“. Here are some of the most interesting facts:

1. Over three quarters of young people thought the internet was a safe place as long as you knew what you were doing. With over ten years of experience of using the internet, they have developed strategies for proof verification that go beyond both older and younger groups. They are confident yet somewhat circumspect and wary. Most importantly, they believe their knowledge and competence is sufficient to manage risk.
2. They seek out several data sources or look for ‘mass’ collaboration when assessing websites. The ‘wisdom of the crowd’ is significant and evidence of others being active on the site, particularly from their peer group is sought. Other clues include:
   • Professional reputation;
   • Offline reputation (including having professional staff with resources to gather definitive and credible information);
   • Previous personal experience with the site;
   • Proof of neutral affiliation (.gov for government site; edu for education; .org for non-profits);
   • Tone of the writing (neutral versus opinionated);
   • Elements of style (use of quotes, pictures, by-lines, newspaper layout).
3. They seek out credibility which is conferred in a number of ways. Brand recognition for example. Well-known brand news sites such as the BBC are regarded as accurate. While interestingly Wikipedia gains authority from its open access, ie. it is available to open modification and censorship rather than emanating from a single authority. They “assemble their views using new and old technologies and from on and offline relationships to build a personally verified position”.
4. The internet possesses several characteristics that make it particularly powerful as a means of seeking advice during what can be highly personal and traumatic life stages. “The significance of the internet as the single first-advice source is illustrated by it its ranking in the top three sources across all issues. When one takes search, online forums and online help-sites together the internet is first source for a quarter of the sample in the case of each issue.” Why was this? While, anonymity was the single most important reason particularly for young women (convenience is more important for young men), young people also expect co-operative use of the internet. They expect to be able to receive and give advice and this plays a key role in a site’s credibility. Where sites lack the opportunity for sharing they are seen as authoritarian and are distant from their audience.

The report provides some useful conclusions for those providing support and advice to this age group and how they might go about producing an effective web-space for such a purpose. As educators, perhaps working with younger people, how might we learn from this report? Some questions that come to mind:

• Do we rely on filtering rather than really considering developing the strategies this generation have learnt to adopt without help?
• Do the Learning Platforms we have introduced facilitate sharing and co-operative methodologies, or are they top-down and ‘distant’ from their intended audience?
• Is the very notion of anonymity on these systems ever considered?

Image credit: Roberto Rizzato

Tags: digitalnative, michaelhulme, youthnet